Press structure



Sept. 5, 1944. w, ERNST I 2,357,507

PRESS STRUCTURE Filed March 9, 1942 lllll 'lll III

RE SBTANCE To ANGULHR OFF CENTER INVENTOR WALTER ERNST JWQMMZAMJAM ATTO R N EY DISPLRQEMENT Patented Sept. 5, 1944 UNITED, STATES PATENT OFFICE PRESS STRUCTURE Walter" Ernst, Mount Gilead, Ohio, assignor to The Hydraulic Development Corporation, Inc., Wilmington, Del., a corporation of Delaware Application March 9, 1942, Serial No. 433,962

Claims.

This invention relates to presses and, in par-- thereof, so that the press platen is still free to tilt in a direction transverse thereto.

Furthermore, the above mentioned arrangement requires a not immaterial increase in the total height of thepress.

Accordingly, it is an object of the invention to provide an improved arrangement which will Overcome the above mentioned drawbacks.

It is another object of the invention to provide a press in which the press platen has associated therewith means which will prevent tilting movement of the platen in either direction.

Another object of the invention consists in the provision of a press in which the press platen is connected with an aligning plunger properly aligned with the press cylinder for preventing tilting movement of the press platen even when acted upon by an eccentric load.

It is still another object of the invention to provide a press in which the press plunger and the press platen form a rigid unit with each other, while the press plunger has rigidly connected thereto an extension for additionally guiding the press platen to prevent tilting movement thereof.

These and other objects and advantages of the invention; will appear more clearlyfrom the following specification in connection with the accompanying drawing which is a front view, partly in section, of a hydraulic press having an aligning plunger according to the present invention attached to the pressing plunger.

The press shown in the drawing comprises a press head I and a press bed 2 interconnected by strain rods 3 and nuts 4.

The press head I is provided with a press cylinder 5 having reciprocably mounted therein a press ram 6 comprising a double-acting piston portion 1. The lower end of the press cylinder 6 has provided therein a packing [compressed by a gland 9 in order to prevent leakage from the press cylinder.

press head from the press bed.

The ram 6 has 'its lower end inserted into the press platen l0 and is connected thereto preferably by a press fit, so that the press platen I0 and the press ram 6 form an integral unit. The press platen I0 is guided by means of gibs ll connected thereto by screws l2 and slidable on correspondingly shaped guiding surfaces I3 provided on the uprights M, which latter space the Rigidly. connected to the piston portion 1 of the ram 6 is an extension 15 which has a longitudinal bore l 6 therethrough and is provided with transverse openings 11 adjacent the piston portion 1. The extension 15 may have any desired shape, but is preferably round and is guided by adapters l8 which carry piston rings 19 tending to decrease their diameter, thereby properly preventing any loss of pressure in the cylinder 5.

The extension l5 has, at the upper end thereof, a chamber 20 which communicates with the longitudinal bore 16, and into which extends a surge valve 2|. The surge valve 2| may be of any defirst portion of its cycle. The surge valve 2| is connected by a flexible hose 23 with a conduit 24 having one end connected to a check valve 25,

while the other end leads to a conduit 26.

The conduit 26, communicating with the lower portion of the press cylinder 5, isadapted to be connected selectively either with an exhaust or with a pressure fluid source. The upper end of the press cylinder 5 communicates with a conduit 21 which is connected with a pressure fluid source when the conduit'26 communicates with an exhaust, and is connected with an exhaust when the conduit 26 communicateswith a pressure fluid source.

To start a working cycle, the conduit 21 is connected with a pressure fluid source, while .the conduit 26.is connected to an exhaust. The press ram 6 then moves downwardly by gravity as fast as fluid is withdrawn through the conduit 26, while the upper portion of the press cylinder 5 is filled with fluid conveyed through the conduit 21 and also conveyed from the tank 22 through the surge valve 2|. While the ram Gthus moves downwardly, the extension 15, connected thereto, also moves downwardly.

When the press platen l0 engages a work piece,

, pressure begins to build up in the press cylinder load will tend to tilt the press platen Hi. However, this is prevented, according to the present invention, by the extension l5 which, as mentioned above, is guided by the adapters and, due to the distance from the line of action 0! said eccentric load, exerts a great counterforce preventing tilting of the press platen.

It should be noted that, inasmuch as the upper end of the press cylinder 5, which houses the adapters for guiding the extension l5, extends into the tank 22, and since the extension ii extends into the tank 22, no material increasein the height of the press is necessary to accommodate the additional guiding means according to the invention for preventing tilting movement of the press platen, in contrast to previous arrangements for a similar purpose.

It will be understood that I desire to comprehend within my invention such modifications as come within the scope of the claims and the invention.

Having thus fully described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is:

1. In combination in a press, a ram, a press platen forming a rigid unit with said ram, first guiding means for guiding said ram, a, hollow cylindrical member rigidly connected to said ram and spaced from said platen, said cylindrical member being open at its top and having an venting tilting of said platen.

2. In combination in a press, a'press bed and press head, uprights spacing said bed and said head from each other, a press platen guided by guiding areas on said uprights, a press cylinder supported by said head, a press plunger reciprocably mounted in said cylinder and having one end thereof rigidly connected with said platen for actuating the same, a hollow extension member connected to the other end of said plunger,

a surge tank on said head, means for conveying fluid from said tank through said hollow extension member into said cylinder, and means connected to said cylinder for guiding said extension member and cooperating with said guiding areas to prevent tilting movement of said platen.

3. In combination in a press, a press bed, a press head, a frame interconnecting said bed and said head and being provided with guiding areas, a press platen guided by said guiding areas, a cylinder supported by said head, a press plunger reciprocable in said cylinder and having one end rigidly connected to said platen, a hollow extension member connected to the other end of said plunger and reciprocable therewith, a surge tank supported by said head, valve means supported by said extension member and operable to convey fluid from said tanl; through said extension member into said cylinder, and means separate from said guiding areas for guiding said extension member and cooperating with said guiding areas to prevent tilting movement of said platen.

4. In combination in a press, a cylinder, a ram reciprocable in said cylinder, a press; platen rigidly connected with one end oi. said ram, a hollow extension member connected to the other end of said ram, valve means in said extension adapted to establish fluid connection between said cylinder and a fluid source outside said cylinder, said extension member and said ram being in alignment with each other, and independent guiding means for guiding said ram and said extension member and cooperating with each other for preventing tilting movement of said platen.

5. In a press having a press platen, and 'a rain for actuating said platen, guiding means for guiding said platen, said means comprising a hollow extension member having one end connected to said ram and extending away from said platen,

and a plurality of annular guiding means slidably surrounding said extension member and arranged in superimposed relationship for guiding the same, said extension member including valve means for admitting fluid to one side of said ram.

- WALTER ERNST. 

